Colitis Information and Treatment

Colitis is a chronic digestive disease and characterized by inflammation of the colon. Colitis also called ulcerative colitis. Colitis commonly affects only the innermost lining of your big intestine (colon) and rectum. It happens only through continuous stretches of your colon, unlike crohn's disease, which occurs in patches anywhere in the digestive tract and often spreads deep into the layers of affected tissues. Colitis is closely related to another condition of inflammation of the intestines called Crohn's disease. Ulcerative colitis can affect people of any age, but most people who have it are diagnosed before the age of 30.

About 1 in 1000 people in the UK develop UC. It can develop at any age but most commonly first develops between the ages of 15 and 40. It affects both men and women equally and tends to run in families. The main symptoms of colitis are cramps, bloody diarrhea or an immediate want to have a bowel movement, bleeding from the rectum and fever. Colitis sometimes leads to more serious problems. It can cause scarring of the bile duct. This can lead to liver damage. In rare cases, severe disease causes the colon to swell to many times its normal size.

Treatment for ulcerative colitis relys on the severity of the disease. Each person experiences colitis differently, so treatment is arranged for each individual. Treatment of colitis may include the administration of antibiotics and general non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAIDS) medications. There are three main types of medicines that are used to manage active ulcerative colitis aminosalicylates, steroids and immunosuppressants. 5-sminosalicylate medicines include sulfasalazine, mesalazine, ofsalazine, and balsalazide. They are an alternative to steroids, and often work well for mild or moderate flare-ups.

Corticosteroids can assist decrease inflammation, but they have many side effects, involving a puffy face, extreme facial hair, night sweats, insomnia and hyperactivity. Anti-inflammatory drugs are frequently the first step in the treatment of ulcerative colitis. Immunosuppressives (drugs that suppress the immune system) treat ulcerative colitis by blocking inflammation. The most commonly prescribed are 6-mercaptopurine (Purinethol) and azathioprine (Imuran). Surgery for ulcerative colitis may become essential for a number of reasons. Surgery may also be recommended for cancer or extreme risk of cancer.